Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has introduced legislation to cut the federal funding of the Department of Homeland Security’s dystopian censorship activities following a string of bombshell MRC exposés.
MRC Free Speech America uncovered how the DHS awarded $700,000 in anti-terrorism grant money to the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab (the “Rhode Island Lab”) to promote censorship and leftist propaganda in America’s classrooms. Notably, MRC also revealed last year how the DHS exploited an anti-terrorism grant program to fund a leftist initiative against the right by the University of Dayton, which included an effort to compare Christians, Republicans and conservatives to militant Nazis.
Hawley aims to end this DHS grant funding once and for all through new legislation, according to Fox News. “‘My bill simply bars Secretary Mayorkas from funneling taxpayer dollars to programs dedicated to targeting this Administration’s political opponents,’” Hawley summarized.
Hawley’s legislation, titled the “Ending DHS Funding for Liberal Propaganda Act,” addresses the DHS’s effort to crush free speech through the infamous “Targeted Violence & Terrorism Prevention Grant Program” (TVTP). Notably, MRC Free Speech America discovered the original TVTP grant to the University of Dayton that produced the now-infamous “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization” ranking Republicans, conservatives and Christians on a scale of extremism that included neo-Nazi and fascist groups. MRC was also the first to uncover the DHS’s grant to the Rhode Island Lab for “counter-propaganda” against conservatives. Fox reported that the Hawley bill targets “any programming relating to countering narratives or views on political topics, including COVID-19, vaccination, media bias, immigration, and crime.”
Biden’s administration has gone rogue using your taxpayer dollars to fund leftist propaganda.
— Brent Bozell (@BrentBozell) January 22, 2024
Much needed legislation from @HawleyMO based on MRC’s censorship investigation. https://t.co/f0p5FpOQXq
Indeed, Hawley cited the University of Rhode Island's Media Education Lab, funded by TVTP, to create “counter-propaganda” against conservatives, Fox News explained. In a previous letter to Mayorkas, Hawley insisted: “This is an outrageous use of federal funds and abuse of power." The senator added, "All these funds should be clawed back by the federal government immediately, and anyone involved in making this grant should be fired.” Hawley clearly meant it.
Fox News attributed the major legislative development to the Media Research Center's public records investigations. Fox News specifically cited MRC's report on the TVTP-funded effort to compare conservatives, Christians, and Republicans with neo-Nazis as one of the foundations for Hawley's new bill.
MRC’s public records investigation efforts also exposed the State Department partnering with German censors to train teachers how to indoctrinate students against conservative news and ideas.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency and an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
